Table 1.
Study Characteristics
| Reference | N | Age Range | Country | Years Range | Mean Duration of Follow-Up, years | Number of Questionnaires Administered* | Total Number of New Events | Quantile Division | Mean/Median GI (GL) Interquantile Ranges | Method for Reporting Events | Adjustments† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liu et al28 | 75 521 (W) | 38 to 63 | United States | 1984–1994 | 10 | 3 (SFFQ) | 761 CHD | Quintiles | 68.1 to 82.7 (117 to 206) | Death certificates, medical/autopsy records | Hypertension; hypercholesterolemia; parental history of MI; menopause; use of multivitamins, vitamin E, and ASA; dietary intake of folate, vitamin E, trans fat, PUFA, and total protein |
| van Dam et al29 | 646 (M) | 64 to 84 | Netherlands | 1985–1995 | 10 | 1 (Interview) | 94 CHD | Tertiles | 77.0 to 85.0 (161 to 230) | Death and hospital discharge registries | ‡Prescribed diet (yesn/no); dietary intake (g/day) of PUFA and CH2O |
| Levitan et al30 | 36 246 (M) | 45 to 79 | Sweden | 1998–2003 | 6 | 1 (FFQ) | 1324 MI | Quartiles | 73.0 to 82.9 (176 to 255) | Death and hospital discharge registries | Hypertension; hypercholesterolemia; parental history of MI; living alone; use of ASA; dietary intake of PUFA, total protein, CH2O |
| Beulens et al31 | 15 714 (W) | 49 to 70 | Netherlands | 1993–2005 | 9 | 1 (FFQ) | 556 CHD | Quartiles | 68.6 to 81.4 (112 to 174) | Death and hospital discharge registries | Hypertension; SBP; menopause; education; use of vitamin E; dietary intake of PUFA, MUFA, total protein |
| Sieri et al33 | 13 637 (M) | 35 to 64 | Italy | 1993–2004 | 7.9 | 1 (SFFQ) | 305 CHD | Quartiles | 71.9 to 80.7 (168.6 to 270) | Death certificates, hospital discharge registries, and clinical record | Hypertension; education |
| Sieri et al33 | 30 495 (W) | 35 to 74 | Italy | 1993–2004 | 7.9 | 1 (SFFQ) | 158 CHD | Quartiles | 71.9 to 80.9 (175.4 to 265.4) | Death certificates, hospital discharge registries, and clinical record | Hypertension; education |
| Halton et al34 | 82 802 (W) | 30 to 55 | United States | 1980–2000 | 20 | 6 (SFFQ) | 1994 CHD | Deciles | GI N/A (83 to 256) | Death certificates, medical/autopsy records | Hypertension; hypercholesterolemia; parental history of MI; menopause; use of multivitamins, vitamin E, and ASA; dietary intake of trans fat, PUFA, MUFA, total protein |
| Mursu et al35 | 1981 (M) | 42 to 60 | Finland | 1984–2005 | 16.1 | 1 (FR) | 376 MI | Quartiles | 70.4 to 89.0 (146.1 to 256.7) | Hospital discharge registries | Diabetes; SBP; hypertension medications; hypercholesterolemia; TAG; family history of CVD; education; dietary intake of folate, vitamin C, and PUFA |
| Burger et al36 | 8855 (M) | 21 to 64 | Netherlands | 1993–2008 | 11.9 | 1 (FFQ) | 581 CHD | Quartiles | 72.9 to 85.0 (143.4 to 208.0) | Municipal administration registries, statistics Netherlands | Hypertension; education; dietary MUFA, PUFA, and energy-adjusted vitamin C, CH2O, and protein intake; plasma total cholesterol and HDL-C |
| Burger et al36 | 10 753 (W) | 21 to 64 | Netherlands | 1993–2008 | 11.9 | 1 (FFQ) | 300 CHD | Quartiles | 73.3 to 84.9 (144.7 to 208.3) | Municipal administration registries, statistics Netherlands | Hypertension; education; dietary MUFA, PUFA, and energy-adjusted vitamin C, CH2O, and protein intake; plasma total cholesterol, and HDL-C |
| Levitan et al42 | 36 234 (W) | 48 to 83 | Sweden | 1998–2006 | 9 | 1 (FFQ) | 1138 MI | Quartiles | 73.3 to 79.9 (128 to 188) | Death and hospital discharge registries | Hypertension; hypercholesterolemia; parental history of MI; menopause; education; marital status; use of multivitamin, vitamin E, and ASA; dietary intake of trans fat, PUFA, MUFA, total protein |
| Grau et al43 | 1684 (M) | 30 to 70 | Denmark | 1974–1999 | 6 to 25 | 1 (Interview/FR) | NR | Quintiles | 75.0 to 91.0 (102 to 220) | Hospital discharge registries | Education; energy-adjusted intake of fat, total protein, and CH2O |
| Grau et al43 | 1889 (W) | 30 to 70 | Denmark | 1974–1999 | 6 to 25 | 1 (Interview/FR) | 114 CHD | Quintiles | 72.0 to 89.0 (84 to 166) | Hospital discharge registries | Education; energy-adjusted intake of fat, total protein, and CH2O |
M indicates men; W, women; SFFQ, Semiquantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (validated); FFQ, Food Frequency Questionnaire (validated); Interview, Diet History Interview; FR, food record; GI, glycemic index; GL, glycemic load; BMI, body mass index; CHD, coronary heart disease; MI, myocardial infarction; CVD, cardiovascular disease; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; TAG, triacylglyceride; SBP, systolic blood pressure; ASA, aspirin; PUFA, polyunsaturated fatty acids; MUFA, monounsaturated fatty acids; CH2O, carbohydrate; NR, not reported; N/A, not available.
All studies used Cox proportional hazard models in their CHD risk estimation association analyses with GI and GL, except for Grau et al.43
All studies had a healthy starting population at the beginning of follow-up except for Mursu et al,35 who had a 5% diabetic population at the start.
Number of Questionnaires Administered denotes number of administered questionnaires at the beginning of and throughout the study.
All studies adjusted for age, BMI, physical activity, alcohol intake, total energy, saturated fat intake.
Dietary fiber intake was adjusted for in all but 1 study.29